The Verb: The Category of Tense and Mood

Tense and mood are two fundamental grammatical categories that play a crucial role in sentence construction. The purpose of this paper is to explore the intricate interactions between tense and mood and provide illustrative examples of their combinations. By examining these interactions, we can gain a deeper understanding of how tense and mood contribute to the overall meaning and expression of a sentence.
Tense refers to the grammatical category that indicates the time of an action or event. It allows us to situate events in relation to the present, past, or future. In sentence construction, tense interacts with mood to convey specific meanings and nuances.
The category of mood expresses the speaker's perspective on the relationship between the action and reality. It can indicate whether the action is real, unreal, probable, or an inducement. In English, there are traditionally three principal types of mood: indicative, imperative, and oblique. The specific forms of mood can vary among authors due to the different verb forms, homonymy in expression, and differences in content.
The indicative mood presents an action as a factual event from a grammatical standpoint. The verb form in this mood indicates the tense of the action, whether it is happening in the present, past, or future.
The imperative mood expresses an inducement or command from the speaker to the addressee. This mood does not indicate tense, aspect, or voice categories. It is used in direct communication and coincides with the present moment. Therefore, it always takes the form of the present tense.
However, some interrogative sentences that express a request or mild command can also be considered part of the imperative mood. In such cases, the verb form in these sentences coincides with the indicative mood.
Modal verbs combined with an infinitive can also be used in the imperative mood to express requests, permissions, prohibitions, or orders.
Some authors consider the word combination with "let" as an analytical form of the imperative mood. These constructions can express an inducement addressed to the first or third person.
However, it is debatable whether constructions with "let" can be considered analytical forms of the imperative mood. There are syntactic relations between the noun or pronoun and "let," and secondary predicative relations between the noun or pronoun and the following infinitive. Additionally, "let" itself can function as an auxiliary in negative and interrogative forms. Therefore, the noun or pronoun after "let" cannot be the subject of "let."
The imperative mood is formed using the infinitive without the particle "to." However, unlike the infinitive, it takes an auxiliary in negative and interrogative forms.
Mood, on the other hand, reflects the speaker's attitude or intention towards the action or event being described. It expresses the speaker's subjective evaluation, such as whether the action is a fact, a possibility, a command, or a hypothetical scenario. The mood categories commonly recognized in many languages include indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative, and interrogative.
The interactions between tense and mood are complex and can vary across different languages. [2] However, some general patterns can be identified. Let's consider a few examples to illustrate these interactions:
1. Indicative Mood and Present Tense: In this combination, the indicative mood expresses a fact or reality, while the present tense situates the action in the present time frame. For instance, "She eats an apple" indicates a habitual action in the present.
2. Subjunctive Mood and Past Tense: When the subjunctive mood is combined with the past tense, it often conveys hypothetical or counterfactual situations. For example, "If I were rich, I would travel the world" implies a hypothetical scenario that contrasts with the speaker's current reality.
3. Conditional Mood and Future Tense: The conditional mood combined with the future tense expresses a hypothetical action or event that may occur in the future under certain conditions. For instance, "If it rains tomorrow, we will stay indoors" indicates a potential future event dependent on a specific condition.